


A coffee and a lie

by flickerbyniall



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Gen, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-19 18:34:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15516024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flickerbyniall/pseuds/flickerbyniall
Summary: “Go on a date with me.” He says out of breath, like he just ran a whole marathon and he needs water, which is funny because Niall’s mouth feels dry.“What?” Niall whispers and clears his throat, because maybe his brain is playing with him and the guy who he’s been fantasizing about is not actually asking him on a date.“You come here every day at 7 in the morning when I know your job starts at 8. You order the same thing every day and we talk until your coffee is cold and you have to drink it all at once because it’s disgusting but you never ask me to microwave it.” Harry stops to take a breath and he looks down, feeling his cheeks getting warm. “But, Niall… Why do you think I’m here every morning waiting for you?”OrNiall works in a bank but he really likes the coffee guy.





	1. Chapter 1

The smell of fresh cookies and artisanal chocolate fills the air when Niall enters the coffee shop. He’s looking at his phone that’s in one hand and holding his briefcase as he drags his feet through the floor. Niall sighs, feeling his chest warming up and a smile growing on his face. This place has become like a home away from home to him, he wakes up a little earlier only to enjoy a cup of coffee maybe a bagel or croissant before heading to work. It reminds him of his mom, the way she used to bake for him and his brother on Sunday mornings when they were younger.

It’s seven in the morning and Niall is already tired and not looking forward to start a new day at the bank. It’s not fun spending your days at a desk running numbers and answering calls especially when your idea of the rest of your life was something completely different, but if it wasn’t for Louis and Liam he couldn’t bear an hour at his small cubicle.  

He sits at the counter next to the showcase full of muffins, cookies, pies and cupcakes and Niall can hear the espresso machine in front of him, so he breathes in, closes his eyes just for a second because he knows already this day is gonna be a pain in the ass. He answers a couple of emails and leaves the briefcase in front of him.

He’s no longer the new kid at work, someone came in at the beginning of the week and his cubicle is right next to Niall’s. He’s younger than him and he’s actually excited about working at the bank- It’s not like Niall doesn’t like him, he does, it’s just the fact that he talks a lot about finances and he’s always trying to help the other with their tasks, which is understandable because he’s a smart kid but he must have done something terrible wrong because yesterday the fucking guy that runs the place came to his cubicle only to yell at him and throw some papers on his keyboard.

The poor guy, Christian, stayed silent the rest of the day. Niall shakes his head and takes out his glasses, pressing his nose bridge. He hates rich people, he really does, he hates more that they think they can do or say whatever they want with no repercussions to them.

“I’d kill for a coffee… literally.” Niall mumbles under his breathe.

A steaming cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin are placed in front of him the second the words leave his mouth. Niall looks up to find Harry with a broad smile on his face and his arms crossed, making his biceps look unnecessarily bigger. Niall looks away biting his lips, begging to any deity that Harry’s not looking at his face right now.

“I can’t let that happen, can I?” Harry says standing in front of Niall with his hands on his hips.

Niall smiles and nods, putting his phone over the briefcase and taking the cup of coffee to his lips. “That was very corny.” He whispers, avoiding to make eye contact.

“Well, you like that about me, don’t you?” Harry laughs.

Niall rolls his eyes, making Harry laugh harder. They met six months ago, almost at the same time he started working for the bank at the end of the street. It was a bad morning and Niall didn’t have time for breakfast so anything in his stomach was pretty much welcome, so he entered the first place he could get coffee on his way to work. What he didn’t expect was finding Harry wearing a pink and white striped apron placing muffins in the showcase. He was charming since the beginning and Niall could barely think of his order before stumbling out of the coffee shop.

Niall is aware they flirt almost on a daily basis, but he doesn’t give it too much of thought because that’s how Harry is, it’s part of his nature, Niall has seen it with other clients and even if he was a little bit disappointed at first, he can’t help but feel special every time he speaks to him, or when he smiles wide and bright and his green eyes disappear, or when he laughs so hard about something Niall said, the sound rumbles in the whole place.

Harry is partially responsible of Niall’s good mood for most of days. He also does things like this from time to time, like giving Niall a muffin when he looks stressed in the morning.

“I didn’t order this.” Niall says as he bites the muffin. It’s warm and sweet and Niall may be in love.

“Yes, you did. You just didn’t say it.” Harry smiles again and rests his arms over the table, dangerously close to Niall’s hands, he starts to lean in but somebody gets into the coffee shop, making him sigh and leave Niall to take the order.

The guy pays for his order and finds a table next to the window so he can read whatever is on his iPad. Niall bites his muffin and looks at Harry’s back as he makes the order.

“Have I ever told you I hate rich people?” Niall sighs, finding some kind of consolation in the baked blueberry he finds in the middle of his muffin.

Harry laughs. “Yeah, every time I see you.”

He pours milk in the drink and Niall decides to take a sip of his coffee. “There’s this new guy at work, okay? His name is Christian and he actually likes his job, which I find bizarre,” Harry laughs again, “He’s really smart and he’s good at his thing, but yesterday the fucking asshole that runs the bank, and let me tell you, he’s only in that office because his father is one of the owners of the bank, otherwise I highly doubt Jeff could-”

Niall couldn’t finish the story because Harry drops the paper cup, spilling the drink on the floor, making Niall stand up as a reaction.

“Are you okay?” Niall asks.

“Do you work in the bank at the end of the street?!” Harry turns. His expression is completely different to the one he had seconds ago, which makes Niall frowns.

“Yes, Harry. I’ve told you I work in a bank.” He says, slowly.

“You didn’t tell me you work in that one, there’s three banks near this place Niall-,” Harry’s eyes are wide open and his hands are all over the place, marking his words and pointing in the direction of the banks.

“What’s the matter with it?” Niall asks, because everything sounds ridiculous now, especially the way Harry’s blushing out of nowhere. And don’t get him wrong, Niall loves to see Harry blushing, but this is different. Harry’s voice, the expression on his face, how tense his muscles look, it’s giving Niall goosebumps and not the good kind.

Harry opens his mouth but Niall gets a text from Louis with only _SOS_ on it, which means he forgot to make the report he has to present today and he needs Niall in the bank to help him. He leaves some money on the table telling Harry to keep the change before taking his briefcase and stepping outside in the cold again.

*

“You’ve been incredibly quiet this morning. Are you mad at me?” Niall look up to find Louis resting both arms over the separation that divided their cubicles.

Niall frowns for a second until realize he’s been staring at the excel document on his monitor for almost twenty minutes. He sighs as he leans over his chair, pulling it at his right to give Louis space to enter his space.

“Remember Harry?” Niall asks putting the pencil he was biting on the desk.

Louis squints until he opens his mouth, “Your coffee guy?”

“He’s not my coffee guy,” Niall rolls his eyes, “he’s my barista,” he stumbles with his words a second later, “I mean, the guy that serves me coffee every day.”

A smirk grows almost comically on Louis’ face, “Same thing. What happened? Did you finally ask him out?”

Niall shakes his head, playing with the pencil with his fingers just to have something to do with his hands, “Something weird happened today.” He says, gentle, almost like he’s telling a secret.

“Something weird?” Louis repeats confused. Niall nods, “What do you mean?”

Niall nods, biting his lips. “He went crazy when I told him I work in this bank. He knew I worked in a bank, but he went nuts when I said it was this one.”

Louis nods, sitting over his desk, his finger tapping his lips, like he’s actually thinking this through. Niall stares at him, waiting for his answer because he’s very confused and he is also aware of the huge crush he has on this boy. He doesn’t really know why he told Louis about Harry, maybe because he has been in a very loving relationship for six years. If the time they broke up doesn’t count. Louis went crazy before they got back together just like he was driving Niall crazy with questions after noticing he was way too smiley at 8 in the morning. _“No one is in that good of a mood on a Monday, Niall. Not even a morning person, and you are not one.”_ He said.

So he told him about Harry, and the way he makes him feel, he told him about the things he bakes and his eyes, and maybe he talked about his smile, and when he finally woke up from his daydreaming, Louis’ eyes were wide open and he was already calling Liam to tell him that _“little Niall is in love, they grow up so fast!”_. After that every morning consists on them asking him if he finally asked him on a date. The answer never changes from a no to a yes. Niall made them promise him not to go to the bakery only to see what Harry looked like just because he refused to take a picture. Liam respects his privacy and Louis is too lazy to wake up that early just to catch Harry in the morning, and he never mentioned something about it, so Niall assumes he’s safe.

Niall sighs when he sees Louis changes his thinking pose and he’s ready to stand up to get a cup of coffee when it hits him, he never finished his coffee or the muffin. Life sucks sometimes.

“Maybe he has some beef with the bank.” Louis says, like it’s the most obvious thing ever.

Niall frowns, trying to figure out if he’s serious or he’s just messing with him. He crosses his arms and Louis stands up.

“I went on a date with this girl when El and I were on a break and she only agreed to it because she thought I could do something about her loan requirement.” He says putting his hands on his hips.

“Really?” Niall asks. Harry is not that type of person, right?

“Yeah, maybe your boy was denied here or something. Not your fault,” Louis laughs, “you should talk about it.”

Niall nods and Louis leaves his cubicle, tapping his shoulder.

*

He barely got sleep last night, he was trying to find ways to apologize until he realized he doesn’t have to apologize for anything. They should talk, Niall has to tell Harry how his job only consists of evaluating the loans applicants and how in no way, does he has the power to decide where the money goes.

So that’s what he is rehearsing in his head when he opens the door and walks to the cash register where Harry is standing in his pink apron and his shy smile, and for some reason, Niall gets nervous. He is about to open his mouth when Harry talks.

“Go on a date with me.” He says out of breath, like he just ran a whole marathon and he needs water, which is funny because Niall’s mouth feels dry.

“What?” Niall whispers and clears his throat, because maybe his brain is playing with him and the guy who he’s been fantasizing about is not actually asking him on a date.

“You come here every day at 7 in the morning when I know your job starts at 8. You order the same thing every day and we talk until your coffee is cold and you have to drink it all at once because it’s disgusting but you never ask me to microwave it.” Harry stops to take a breath and he looks down, feeling his cheeks getting warm. “But, Niall… Why do you think I’m here every morning waiting for you?”

Niall frowns as he looks up and sees Harry biting his lips, “Because it’s your job?” he asks avoiding eye contact.

Harry coughs, running his fingers through his hair, “I mean I asked for this shift. So I can see you.”

Niall finally looks at his eyes, laughing because this seems unreal, but he is so happy and he doesn’t want to mess anything up, so he nods, making Harry smile as well.

*

It’s funny, how it’s physically impossible for Niall to restrain himself from smiling the rest of the day. And if it wasn’t for Louis telling him he’s been humming for almost half an hour, he wouldn’t have noticed. Niall is vibrating and warm inside, it’s a whole new kind of excitement he never felt before. He’s not the best at relationships, he has so many walls around him and it’s really hard for him to trust people. But he’s just scared, his parents divorced when he was really young which made him grow up faster than he should have. He took care of himself to make things easier on his dad and somehow that built a breach between him and his brother.

He knows he played a big part in his breakups, not giving as much as he received, caring but not showing so, loving but almost in secret, so it wasn’t really a surprise when people called it off, Bressie told him a million times, unless he’s willing to open up to a significant other, they would never see a future with him. And yes, Niall has been hurt, but it was never too deep to really leave a scar on him, he always prepared himself for that kind of ending anyway.

But somehow, with Harry it feels different. Everything about him feels different and it terrifies him but not as much as it excites him. He knew the first time he saw him entering that coffee shop, he felt it when he first smiled at him and he knows now when his palms sweat just thinking of Friday night.

It’s finally lunch time when he tells them about the date, which surprises them both. Louis thought the best he could get of a conversation is things back to normal and Liam is just happy for him. After a couple of seconds of silence, Louis starts with the banter.

Nothing really changes the next days. He still goes to the bakery in the morning, but now Harry eats breakfast with him at a table in the back of the place, changes the sign from open to closed and assures Niall that the owner is on vacation and he won’t know.

_“People barely come here this early in the morning anyway, Niall.”_

Harry says that with a smile that makes the 26 year old grown ass man that Niall is, blush. And Niall doubts it, because he keeps seeing people walking past the coffee shop and look at the sign before walking away. But he doesn’t say anything about it until Friday morning, because these last mornings have been amazing. He’s gotten to enjoy Harry in a way he didn’t in the last six months. He tells these stupid jokes that make Niall laugh just to see Harry’s smile and eyes shine so bright, it warms his chest.

They also talk about a lot of stuff. Music, concerts and cities they’d love to visit one day, friends and family and how much they love them. Harry is like no one Niall met before, he’s so smart and well-spoken that Niall forgets how clumsy he can be. He loves rom-coms more than he should and he is also a pretty good chef – according to him – and he is a cat person and prefers tea over coffee.

Knowing these things make everything make more sense, because Niall feels like he’s already falling, but somehow he knows Harry would be there to catch him. Maybe it’s the way Harry looks at him, the way his hands touch when they’re over the table and his foot play around with his. It doesn’t really matter because when Harry is biting his smile after telling a silly joke and Niall looks at his watch and knows he has to go to work, he loses that spark in his eyes the same way Niall does, so Niall is certain he’s gonna miss him too.

But he’s been getting late to work these past mornings and Harry really needs to attend to other people, especially when he’s the only one in the coffee shop. So that morning Harry kisses him on the cheek as a goodbye and Niall can’t wait for tonight.

The day passes slowly, like it’s making fun of Niall, he gets tons of phone calls and finishes two reports just to distract himself. He is already a nervous wreck and Louis is not helping at all with his not so subtle looks and eyebrows rising, but Liam helps to tone it down. It’s almost embarrassing his friends know about this date, but he puts the thought in the back of his mind.

But then the date comes and it’s all a blur. One second they’re in the Royal Observatory in Greenwich because apparently Harry remembered the whole week Niall spent talking about how much he loves space. It is bit magical, and Niall is speechless. Harry says he bought the tickets online before Niall could worry about anything else other than enjoying the view so he doesn’t notice when Harry steps closer to him, but he feels when he interweaves their hands and fingers. So he rests on Harry’s chest because it feels right and he can.

Harry drives them to the London Eye after the Observatory because Niall has been living in London for over a year he hasn’t visited yet. They buy some fish and chips to eat with the view of London in front of them and it’s good and this may be the best date Niall has ever had. It wasn’t forced, it was simple and significant and he didn’t realize how much attention Harry put paid to him until now.

So when they’re standing in front of Niall’s apartment, he sees the kiss coming. He sees Harry playing with his feet trying to extend the conversation, keeping his hands in his coat, biting his lips until he finally looks up at Niall and gets closer, letting the air leave his lungs and escape his lips. He opens them just enough to let Niall know what’s coming.

Harry extends his hand and touches Niall’s cheek, making him close his eyes and sigh until he feels Harry’s lips in his, gently touching until he opens his mouth and Harry holds him tight, licking his bottom lip, asking for permission, Niall tangles his fingers in his hair, giving in to him.

“Can you?” Harry pulls apart, mimicking the glasses on his face. Niall laughs, nodding as he takes the glasses off and puts them in his coat’s pocket.

They meet in the middle, but this time Niall is in Harry’s arms and they step back until Niall’s back hits the door and they laugh for a second before they kiss again. Niall feels Harry’s nose on his cheek and he smiles, holding the nape of his neck, feeling how his whole body blushes.

“I wanted to do that for a long time.” Harry says as he breathes in, looking at Niall in the eyes, taking his breath away.

“Me too.” Niall whispers, pecking Harry’s lips, making him laugh.

Harry sighs and just stands there with his arms around Niall, looking at him and Niall lets him, standing still because he just wants to look at him for a moment too.

*

They text until they see each other on Monday. Not much changes, maybe just the fact that Niall seems to be a little bit happier since he came to London. They have breakfast together every day and Niall kisses Harry goodbye if there’s no one else in the coffee shop. And even if he hates his job and he has to put up with his bosses and the friends they bring along time to time then so be it.

Louis and Liam ask to meet him three times a week, but things are going great and he doesn’t want to rush anything, and he also wants Harry for himself a little longer before he has to share him.

Niall takes them to see The Killers that weekend, because they were in town and they had a blast. Harry was jumping all over the place and Niall underestimated his knowledge about the lyrics of their songs. But it was good and Harry kissed him when they played Romeo and Juliet and even when Niall called it soppy, he loved it.

For the third date they go to a nice restaurant to have dinner. They drink wine – too much wine – and eat pasta. They also laugh the whole evening, and it was fine because it wasn’t a fancy restaurant, it was small and cozy and it made you feel like home. So when they’re kissing at Niall’s doorstep, he doesn’t stop them, he opens the door and turns the lights on touching the wall, trying to find the switch and he closes the door with his foot.

Harry’s hands are on his waist as they pull apart for a second, just to look at each other’s eyes. Niall nods and the next thing he feels is Harry undoing the strap and letting his pants hit the floor. Niall rests his arms on Harry’s shoulders and kisses him again, feeling Harry unbutton his shirt. Harry lifts him up and Niall crosses his legs around his waist, pointing at his bedroom door. They don’t turn on the lights when they enter. Niall can hear Harry’s breathing in his ear and his hands pressing the skin on his thighs.

Niall falls on the mattress and Harry stands in front of him, his legs next to Niall’s thighs, taking his shirt off without breaking eye contact with Niall, and somehow, in the middle of the darkness in Niall’s messy room, Harry looks glorious, tall and muscular and that look of fierce determination on his face. He freaks out momently. _Is he really going to sleep with Harry on the third date? Is he gonna find him on the other side of his bed the next morning?_

He doesn’t have time to think about it when Harry leans in and kisses him on the lips, biting his bottom lip and stretching it just to make him moan, which works. Harry’s touching him in a way he’s never been touched before. And it’s a little bit rough, like he’s trying to imprint his scent on his skin, but he takes it all, the kisses on his jaw and he bites on his neck, the fingertips on his love handles and the compliments whispered into his ear.

When he wakes up the next morning to find Harry already looking at him and playing with his hair, he knows he doesn’t have to worry about anything.

*

“I’m thinking of taking Harry to the new restaurant down the street.” Niall says during their lunch time, taking a sip of his soup.

“The Italian one?” Louis asks, Niall nods. “That’s Harry Styles’, right Liam?”

Niall and Louis turn to Liam just to see him nod before biting his burger.

“Who’s Harry Styles?” Niall asks, drinking his soup again until he hears forks hitting the table and finds his two friends staring at him with open mouths.

“You don’t know who Harry Styles is?” Louis asks, in shock. Niall shrugs.

“He’s Des Styles’ son. The other owner of the bank.” Liam answers, slowly, like this must be something Niall should know by common knowledge.

“Are they Italian?” He asks, Louis laughs.

“He was a chef before studying business to take over the company one day. I think the condition was for his father to give him a restaurant first. Typical playboy millionaire kind of thing but rumors say his mother got tired of it so they threatened him to disinherit if he didn’t put his life in order.” Liam answers again, losing the interest in the lack of awareness of the Styles family from Niall.

“So, it’s expensive?” Niall looks at Louis.

“Hell yeah.”

*

They’re in Niall’s apartment watching something on Netflix when the conversation he had with Louis the other day pops up in his head. It all started with Louis demanding to finally meet Harry but Niall keeps pushing the idea away until Louis asked if he has met Harry’s friends already. And after Niall stayed in silence for a while Louis decided to look him up in Facebook but then Niall realized one thing.

“What’s your last name, Harry?” Niall asks looking up from Harry’s lap as he chokes on the chips he was eating.

“What?” Harry coughs, tapping his chest as Niall sits next to him, rubbing his back.

“Louis wanted to add you in Facebook when I realized I don’t know your last name.” Niall laughs, nervously.

He didn’t think about it too much. It was simple when it needed to be. Harry was only a cute barista he used to see every day, and yeah maybe he pinned after him for a long time, but he wasn’t brave enough to make deeper questions when they were just friends. But now they’re in some kind of relationship and Niall realizes he doesn’t know much about Harry.

He knows about his favorite food and his favorite shows, he knows what he likes to do in his free time and how his voice sounds when he’s sleepy, he knows how his mouth tastes and how his hands feels on his body but it’s been four months and he doesn’t know his fucking last name, or the name of his parents or his sister, he doesn’t know where he lives or any of his friends, and that’s making him a little uncomfortable.

Niall is still under Harry’s spell, but he can see a little clear now.

“I don’t have a Facebook account.” Harry says, after taking a sip of the water Niall brought him from the kitchen.

Niall stares at him, because that wasn’t his question.

“Cox. My last name is Cox.” He says, almost sounding insecure, but Niall smiles anyway, resting his body on Harry’s chest.

Niall feels his boyfriend’s arms around him and a little kiss on his neck.

*

“I told you it was a mess.” Harry says after turning the lights on.

Niall laughs because his apartment is not a mess, stuff should be in the apartment to be a mess.

“I’m still moving in.” Harry explains when Niall walks into the center of the living room with his hands on his hips where there’s only a sofa and a lot of boxes unopened.

“I’ll help you unpack.” Niall says as he turns to Harry, adjusting his glasses on his nose, sighing for the work they have ahead of them.

Harry drops the keys on the rack next to the door and walks to Niall, bumping their chests and making Niall laugh as he closes his arms around his waist.

“What if we inaugurate the bedroom first?” Harry asks, biting Niall’s lobe.

Niall laughs harder, “You’re an idiot.”

But he doesn’t resist when Harry makes him back walk to what seems to be his room.

*

Life is great. It’s a silly thing to say but it feels good to say it. Niall is happy and for the first time in his life, he’s not afraid to say so to the people in his life. He told his parents about Harry a few weeks ago and it went really well.

 _“You should bring him home for Christmas.”_ His mom had said, and Niall could see her smile in her tone of voice.

He has a boyfriend that he sees almost every day and it’s been working pretty well for already six months. They spent most of their free time together and Niall’s been thinking about asking Harry to finally meet his friends. They’re adults and it feels like they’re teenagers trying to pass the three months barrier – which they have – before getting too serious.

The thing is, Niall already feels like they’re serious or maybe it’s the booze talking right now. Louis is talking too loud and Liam is with Sophia bringing more drinks. The beginning of the night was good, he told them everything about Harry to Eleanor and she was yelling about how she wants to meet him and Harry was supposed to be there, Niall hadn’t told him he would be meeting his friends but he called last minute, his mother wanted to see him and he had to drive all the way back to Holmes Chapel so they could talk. He reassured Niall nothing was wrong and Niall hung up feeling a little heavy in the chest.

Now he’s alone at the table as he sees his friends with their significant others and he misses Harry so much so he does the first thing that comes to his mind. He stands up and almost falls over trying to getting out of the bar so he can call Harry without the noise of the music and the screams.

The phone rings four times before someone picks up.

“Hello? Harry’s-”

“Harry!” Niall screams, laughing a second later. “I miss you so much.”

“Who is this?” A deep voice answers and for a moment, Niall doesn’t recognize Harry, but it must be the alcohol.

“Me? Your boyfriend, Niall?” He answers, almost offended but he lets it pass because Harry is very cute and he really wants to kiss him right now. “How is your mom? Everything all right?” Niall sighs as he stands next to a wall, Harry doesn’t answer. “I’m so tired Haz, I wanna go to bed.” He yawns. “Have I told you what my asshole boss did today?”

There’s a silence on the other side of the line until someone clears his throat.

“No, you didn’t. What boss?”

“Jeff Azoff, who else?” Niall laughs. “He’s a jerk. He called me to his office today and laughed at my face after I presented a sustainable lean requirement. That business has ground, Harry! I evaluated it myself!”

The line goes dead and Niall finds himself staring at his phone before shrugging and stepping inside the bar again.

*

It’s been a lazy morning. He talked about meeting his friends with Harry in the morning and even though he seemed a little bit reluctant, he promised they will talk about it after work at Niall’s apartment. Which is good, Niall will order pizza and maybe just invite Liam and Louis over so Harry can’t escape this time.

He knows it’s childish, but Niall doesn’t understand why Harry is so nervous, he has assured him multiple times there’s no way his friends won’t like him when he makes him this happy. Harry just smiles and kisses his forehead like there’s things he’s keeping inside that he is not ready to let go of yet.

And that makes him sad, that Harry doesn’t trust him the way he’d like him to. Maybe that’s karma, maybe it’s his turn to be patient one and let Harry come to terms with their relationship, but Niall is more than willing to wait. He loves Harry, and even if he hasn’t told him yet, he feels like it’s gonna slip out of his mouth any second now.

“Niall?”

Niall turns to his left only to find Christian looking at him.

“Azoff called you to his office.”

“Again?” Niall asks, Christian shrugs and returns to type on the computer.

Niall stands up and stretches before walking to the elevator and pressing the third floor button and going to the end of the hallway, to Azoff’s office. He takes a deep breath and knocks on the door and opens it after being told to.

“Good morning, sir.” Niall greets as he walks to the chair.

“You don’t need to sit. You’re fired.”

Niall freezes and he feels like a truck just hit him on the chest, he opens his mouth to at least ask why when an item in Jeff Azoff’s desk caught his attention. His breathing speeds up and he feels his heart rising up as well. A framed photograph is on the desk that wasn’t there the day before, positioned to look at the door, like it was especially placed there for Niall to see.

He walks up to the desk and takes the frame in his hands. Niall feels like he can’t breathe. In the picture is Jeff and his wife at his wedding, but in the middle on them, with his arms over their shoulders and the biggest smile on his face, is Harry.

“You know someone in that picture, Mr. Horan?” Jeff asks, crosses hands over his knee.

Niall shakes his head, tears blurring his vision.

“I don’t know what game you’re playing, but you’re gonna stop it right now. You think I don’t know the shit you talk about me outside these doors? Everyone talks shit about me, I don’t care. But you don’t mess with my family.” He’s standing now and yelling right at Niall’s face, but he can’t really hear anything other thing that his own heartbeat.

“How do you know him?” Niall asks him, quietly, drawing his face with his fingertip.

Jeff laughs. “I’ve known him since the day he was born.”

Niall nods, feeling the tears falling down his face and leaves the room as Jeff keeps screaming something about a plan that won’t work and money he will never touch. Niall feel sick to his stomach, so he runs to the closest restroom he can find and lets the coffee and the bagel he ate with Harry this morning in the toilet. He has to cover his mouth with his hand when he can’t help but cry, because a lot of things make sense now. The not knowing anything about Harry, not knowing anyone around him and his constant refusal of meeting important people in Niall’s life.

He feels dumb, he feels so fucking stupid because he can’t understand why yet. Why would someone like Harry lie to him? To mess him up? To sleep with him? How could he go on with a lie for almost a year?

Niall stands up and walks to the mirror. His cheeks are red and his eyes are swollen. He dips his face in the water and then he dries it up with a paper towel before going back to the second floor and walking to his cubicle.

“What the fuck happened to you?” Louis walks to him before he could even reach his stuff.

“I’m fired.” Niall smiles, trying to regulate his breathing.

“What do you mean you’re fired?!” Liam appears at his side a second later.

Niall tries to avoid them as he takes his phone, his briefcase and puts his jacket on, taking his identification out of his neck.

“What is going on?” Louis asks, squishing Niall’s arm.

“I’ll call you later, I need to talk to someone first.”

He doesn’t really know what he’s gonna tell Harry when he sees him. Maybe he’s gonna ask him why, maybe he’ll just ask if he actually feels something for him or if this was all a game. And Niall is scared like he never was before, he feels his heart in his throat and his mind is running with a million different thoughts.

Niall crosses the street and sees the bakery, fully open and operational, he’s about to step in when he stops himself. Inside there’s five different people serving the tables wearing those pink aprons and Harry is standing in one of the white columns, wearing a black suit pant, a white shirt and a watch that could cost Niall’s entire apartment. Sitting in front of him is Des Styles in a classy suit and next to him is a beautiful girl with a tablet in her hands, laughing with the two of them like they’ve known each other since forever.

He doesn’t goes in. He turns around and goes to the subway so he can get home and sleep until he’s back in college in Dublin and this is just a bad dream.

*

Someone knocking at the door wakes him up. Niall stays in bed, looking at his closed window and feeling like shit. The lights gone and he guesses he slept until night, which is fine. He prefers to be sleeping right now.

“Niall? Baby? Are you there?” Harry’s voice resonates in the apartment and Niall closes his eyes. “I was coming over tonight, remember? Did you fall asleep?” He knocks at the door again, this time louder. “I’ve been calling you for hours. Is everything okay?”

Niall doesn’t answer, he doesn’t move. Even moments after Harry leaves, even days later when Louis and Liam leave tons of voice messages asking _why the fuck did Harry Styles just walk in asking for you to pick up your phone?!_


	2. Chapter 2

Harry walks into the bank with his head down and his hands in his pockets. He purposely ignores his father’s associates when they try to stop him to start a conversation, but he nods at every _Mr. Styles_ he hears passing by. His hands are sweaty and he’s already clearing his throat from the moment he steps into the elevator. This wasn’t the way he wanted to tell Niall the truth, but since he’s not answering his phone or opening his door, this will have to do.

The elevator’s doors open and Harry fixes his suit’s jacket before heading to the receptionist.

“Good morning,” he smiles. The red head stops typing and before looking up, her expression changes entirely as she lays eyes on Harry. “Where can I find Niall Horan’s desk?”

Melanie, as the little plaque on her chest says, frowns. Harry plays with the rings on his fingers as he’s starting to get nervous and not only because of the stares he’s receiving. The receptionist picks up the phone and Harry would be lying if he says he’s paying attention to a word she’s saying.

He zones out because there is a big chance they could bump into Niall this very moment. And when he will see Harry, standing there in his fancy suit and an expensive watch on his wrist, he will have to do a lot of explaining, but it’s still better than not hearing Niall’s voice at all.

“Mr. Styles?”

Harry turns around when his name is called, but he doesn’t find Niall as he expected.

“My name is Liam Payne, I’m the manager of this floor.” Harry swallows because he’s in front of one of Niall’s best friends and they haven’t been properly introduced yet. “Were you asking for Niall Horan?”

He nods and Liam asks him to follow him, so he does. They pass a lot of cubicles, heads popping out as they walk by and it which would have been be funny if Harry wasn’t so anxious. They stop next to a group of five cubicles near the coffee area, specifically, in front of an empty desk.

“So, Liam, I’ve been thinking, maybe we can break down the door and-”

“Louis, this is Harry Styles.” Liam rushes to say when someone else walks in with a cup of tea and a cocky smile, Louis leaves the cup on his desk and apologizes.

“Is this Niall’s desk?” It comes out as a question, with the wavering in Harry’s voice, rather than the statement he tried to make. Louis' muscles tense up visibly as if he’s ready to fight.

“Why are you looking for Niall?” Louis asks, poison in his words, like he’s protecting his friend in his absence somehow.

Harry looks around them, disorientated, partially because he doesn’t see Niall here and the fact that he can put a face to the names he’s been hearing so often. It makes him feel like a spy. But there’s something else in the air, like an invisible line is drawn somewhere in the floor that Harry doesn’t want to step on.

“Where is he?” Harry repeats.

Louis looks at Liam, like he could provide the answer he seems to need at that moment, and Harry understands, it’s a bizarre interaction he’s been trying to avoid so he could plan this moment to perfection, but time has run out and his chest hurts every day he wakes up without news of his boyfriend. He just has a bad feeling.

“He has been fired a week ago.” Liam informs from behind him, making Harry hold his breath.

“What?!” He turns around again and Liam seems confused by the sharpness of his reaction.

“He was called by Mr. Azoff and the next thing we know he was packing up his things.” Harry jumps out when someone else answers from his side, they turn to him and Harry recognizes the kid as Christian, but he doesn’t have the time to thank them because he’s rushing to the elevator.

*

“Oh, Harry! I didn’t know we were meeting for lunch,” Jeff greets with a huge smile on his face as he stands up, heading to Harry with open arms.

“Why did you fire Niall Horan?” He asks, his voice is stone cold and suddenly, Harry’s hands turn into fists at his sides.

Jeff smile drops just like his arms do. He turns back to his desk, showing Harry his back.

“Who?” He replies in his mocking tone.

“I’m not in a mood for games, Jeff.” Harry places his hand on Jeff’s shoulder, making him turn around, “Why did you do it?” Harry repeats, intoning every syllable, looking right into Jeff’s eyes.

“Just answer me one thing,” Jeff says, taking Harry’s hand off his shoulder, “Did you know he was working here?”

Harry shakes his head, disoriented, “No, but-”

“That’s the answer you want! It’s not the first time something like this has happened, and I’m always the one you call to clean up your mess-”

“It’s not like that!” Harry explodes, trying so hard not to yell, but he knows his face is red and his knuckles are white the moment he puts them on the back of the chair near him. “This is nothing like that and I’m not a kid anymore. I didn’t ask for your help.” He says through his teeth.

“You never see the bigger picture, Harry. But I do. That’s why I’m here and you’re out there playing chef.” Jeff dismisses him with a hand movement and Harry has stop himself from throwing the chair to the wall.

“You are here because I refused to.” Harry walks up to Jeff, slowly. “Because between you and me, we both know I wouldn’t need as many assessors as you have.”

And for what seems to be the first time in his life, Harry sees the same look Jeff used to give his opponents before a competition, only this time he was ready and mad enough to not care at all.

*

The day Harry met Niall wasn’t any different from how that week was going. The bakery had two weeks of being fully operational and Harry was still going to bake and help set up the showcase and prepare the tables. He was proud of himself, even if his family thought it was just _cute_. Gemma and Anne were there for the inauguration, Harry baked for them and served every single customer that walked in for almost five hours, but it was good, he loved it.

The evening before they met for the first time, Harry had dinner with his dad and Jeff. They made fun of him, how he was going to get bored of making cakes and hot chocolate soon enough, and when that time would come, an office on the third floor of the bank was waiting for him, ready for him to move into. So when a hot guy walked into the store that next morning, wearing an impeccable suit, fixing his glasses on the bridge of his nose while holding onto his briefcase like his life depended on it, Harry thought it was a joke. He thought that and Jeff was pulling a prank on him.

That is kind of their thing, pulling pranks on each other, like that time Jeff hide Harry’s coats when their families went to skiing to the Alps, or when Harry cut all of Jeff’s swimsuits in return when they went to Hawaii. Or that time when Jeff teamed up with Nick to hire a stripper for Harry’s 19th birthday and Harry stole Jeff’s car for a week. Or maybe when Jeff called the cops on him when he was having a party on his dorm in college so, of course, Harry took a goat to be his date at Jeff’s wedding.

Which made it completely logical for Harry to think that the gorgeous guy walking through his door was another stripper to prove Harry how ridiculous he looked behind a cash register. But he was ready for it and if Jeff already paid for it, he was going to enjoy it. So when he started to mumble his order, Harry let himself flirt a little with the guy, maybe he threw in some touches at his arms or hands on purpose, but the guy disappeared as soon as he got his coffee.

And that left him thinking about it for the rest of the day, so when he showed up again the next morning, Harry initiated a conversation and he realized that maybe this guy had nothing to do with Jeff and that maybe he’s just a pretty boy working at a job he already hates. For some reason Harry couldn’t explain at that time, he kept coming every morning for the next six months, only to serve Niall and leave.

It became part of his new routine. Help to open the bakery and ask the employees to hide in the kitchen until Niall leaves and start his day. It was fresh, different, new, Harry brought him a different kind of happiness in the mornings he didn’t know he needed until the day he mentioned Jeff and it was like Harry abruptly woke up from a really sweet dream. And he panicked. He was scared because he knew it was only a matter of time before Niall would find out who he really was.

So he asked him out the next morning because he couldn’t afford to lose Niall and because every day he fell a little more for him. Harry had a plan. A rushed one, they just had to fell in love and then he would tell Niall, calmly and he would explain with details and he would give him his reasons so Niall would understand.

But Jeff took that from him and now he is here, knocking at Niall’s door for already thirty minutes, begging him to so he can explain. He doesn’t know what he wants to say, the only thing in his head is how afraid he is of losing him. Niall has gotten under his skin and into his mind, Harry is now so used to his presence, his touch, his scent.

He doesn’t pay attention at the steps from downstairs and coming from behind him or the sigh that comes from behind his back, he just keeps calling Niall, but his voice is tired just as his knuckles are. He only turns around when he hears someone clearing his throat behind him and then he finds Niall dressed up in dark jeans and a blue shirt, covered by a green coat that matches his shoes, he still looks gorgeous, only this time is a sad kind of beauty, his eyes seem off and he doesn’t have the usual redness in his cheeks, and pink of his lips is almost gone. That hurts Harry because somehow, he is responsible for that look and the pain that Niall has been feeling for these past days.

“Niall,” Harry whispers more to himself because it’s been two weeks since he last saw him and that’s the longest since they met if the Holiday weeks he spent in Ireland don’t count.

“Pardon me,” Niall says, pointing to the door, stoic voice with his eyes looking everywhere else but at Harry.

Harry looks at the door behind him and nods, stepping aside.

“We need to talk,” Harry says gently as Niall opens the door, but he doesn’t answer. “Please, Niall. I’m gonna fix everything. You’ll get your job back and we-”

“Don’t.” Niall interrupts, looking at him for the first time in two weeks as he stands in front of him, holding the door. “I’m already looking for a job. The bank thing won’t work out for me anymore but-”

“What do you mean?” Harry asks but Niall looks down and his hands in the door turn into fists. “Is it because of Jeff?”

“I didn’t like the job. I’m not doing it anymore, your _friend_ has nothing to do with it.”

Harry freezes the moment Niall’s words leave his mouth. He never talked to him like that, stone cold voice but fire in his eyes and it’s breaking his heart.

“Please, let me in. We need to talk.” Harry feels like he’s begging, but he doesn’t care anymore.

“Not now.” And then, Niall shuts the door closed.

*

Harry enters the restaurant rubbing his own hair out of his eyes. They’re supposed to open in half an hour and everyone is moving from one side of the place to the other, putting everything in order. Harry just sits at a table next to the big wall of glass and looks outside. It’s sunny but fresh and he feels like he’s missing something out hiding like this from his family and friends, but he’s just waiting. Until Niall calls, he can’t help but feel his life is on pause.

The bell rings when someone walks in the restaurant and Harry is ready to fire someone because it’s not time yet, but when he looks up, everything that happened the last two weeks – if not the last year – comes to his mind, and he feels bad again.

He stands up when she starts walking up to him, Harry helps with the chair, allowing her to sit in front of him and asks for two glasses of wine to the nearest waitress to him.

“Glenne,” he says gently as she leaves her purse in the chair next to her. “Why didn’t you call me? I could’ve-”

“So what is it this time?” She asks, with a smile on her face but sadness in her eyes. “The last time you two fight like this it was because of the coffee shop you wanted to open two years ago,” she breathes in and looks directly to Harry’s eyes, “and still, you never missed our Saturday’s dinner.”

Harry sighs. His head has been all over the place and if he has to be honest, he doesn’t want to see Jeff for a while, but Glenne has nothing to do with it.

“It’s something between us. But I’m gonna fix it.” Harry says drawing a smile on his face.

Glenne smiles, letting out the air that, apparently, she was holding since she entered the restaurant. Harry squeezes her hand over the table without making any visual contact because he wasn’t talking about Jeff, but she doesn’t need to know that. So, when she leaves, Harry picks up the phone and makes the call he never thought he’d make in this situation.

*

“Wait, wait. Are you saying you’re the guy Niall has been dating?” Harry breathes out and nods. “What the fuck?!”

“Louis!” Liam holds his arm in the other side of the table as Harry moves awkwardly in his chair.

“I don’t care he’s our boss, Liam. Have you seen Niall lately?” Louis turns to Liam, trying to talk under his breath. Liam slowly lets go of Louis’ hand, nodding.

Harry looks down the table and scratches the lower part of his head. From what he has heard of Niall, he knows Louis can be pretty loud, especially when he’s mad and from the look in his eyes, he’s mad enough to kill Harry in his own restaurant at ten in the morning on a Sunday. That is the reason he invited them to brunch, maybe somewhere down his conscience wants to apologize to them and beg them to help him, even if that seems impossible right now.

Louis stands up and starts to pick up his phone from the table and his jacket from the chair when Harry stands up as well.

“Let me explain.” Harry tries to stop him by taking his arm.

“Has Niall let you explain?” Louis asks, looking at Harry’s hand grabbing his arm.

“No,” Harry says, letting his arm go.

“That’s all I need to know.” He’s about to storm out of the place when Liam speaks.

“Louis, wait.” Liam says, clearing his throat and looking Harry right in the eyes, and suddenly he looks bigger.

He crosses his arms in front of his chest and Louis turns around slowly, his eyes dancing between Liam and Harry, trying to figure it out what is going to happen next. Harry swallows and wishes he’d have a plan for this because now the three of them are standing up in an empty restaurant with untouched food on the table.

It’s not a comfortable silence and Harry doesn’t know if he should start explaining the miserable train of thoughts that got him into this situation or if he should wait to any of them to say something. Louis leaves his things in the place they were and supports his hands on the table as he looks at Liam, maybe waiting for an answer too.

“Tell me a reason we should listen to you.” Liam finally says, his voice sounds strong but restricted like he’s stopping himself from yelling. “Just one.”

“I love him.” He says immediately like his brain has been waiting for anyone to ask so the words can finally leave his mouth.

They fall into the quiet again, but this time it’s different. Liam’s arms slowly touch his sides and Louis stands straight up, his lips open and close up, maybe thinking of a way to react. And Harry is scared. His voice is trembling and he coughs to hide the fact that his cheeks are turning red. He has known for a while, maybe the moment when Niall got him a birthday present even before they dated or the first time he made him laugh. There’s not a more undeniable truth that Harry loves Niall and that he is pretty much in love with him, but he didn’t want the two people in front of him to be first to hear it.

Because he finally says something that’s been oppressing his chest for over a year, making him appreciate every minute he spent with Niall even more, in a completely different way, giving the touches and kisses they exchanged a deeper meaning. And it’s overwhelming in a way that makes him want to laugh and cry because this shouldn’t be how he says he loves the best person he knows, he should be looking at a different pair of blue eyes and he should be receiving a smile in return, maybe getting an _I love you_ back and a kiss if he’s lucky enough. But things don’t always work out as he wants, even if he’s used to it.

The second he sees Louis and Liam sit down and look away he feels the tears falling down his cheeks, but he’s not crying, is just a way to let it all out. Harry sighs and sits down in front of them. Louis is almost imperceptibly smiling, hiding his lips as he eats the cold French toast and drinks the tea, Liam is looking at Harry again and he knows what’s coming

“Explain yourself.” That’s all he says.

Harry nods. “When Niall walked in the coffee shop for the first time, I was running the cash register and I thought Jeff sent him to pull me a prank so I played along and suddenly a couple of weeks passed and Niall became part of my life.” He smiles to himself, unable to look up. “I pretended to work in the bakery for six months, I started to forget it wasn’t my reality.”

“Were you planning to tell him?” Louis interrupts, Harry looks at him and realizes Liam is finally eating as Louis grabs the orange juice and takes a sip.

“When I confirmed he didn’t know Jeff, of course. I wanted to take him out and maybe start something with him but it was ridiculous how nervous I used to get around him, until he told me he worked for our bank and I panicked, because it was matter of time he’d found out who I am, so I asked him out, he said yes and everything took its own course from that moment on.” Harry breathes out, like saying all that took the last bit of energy that he had remained.

Liam nods, cleaning the edges of his lips with a napkin next to his head, in the middle of him and Louis. “And yet, you dated him for six months and didn’t even bother to tell him your last name.”

“When I was with him I wasn’t my dad’s son, I was the person I’ve always wanted to-”

“So he was your distraction.” Louis says, taking the attention of the room. He frowns and his eyes are cold again and Harry’s throat dries up.

“No-”

“Because all I’m hearing, Harry, is that Niall made you forget your horrible and difficult life as a rich asshole.” This time Liam doesn’t stop Louis and Harry feels like he’s losing a battle.

He knew it was going to be hard and he’s trying to put everything he feels into words, trying to explain his actions in a way they could understand why as the time was passing he got tangled into his lies and scenarios that even say real facts about his life like talking about his mom or sister could make Niall realize he was nothing more than a liar and he would leave him.

“He used to say he hates rich people, almost every day so for a while I resigned to the idea we weren’t gonna be more than just friends. But I didn’t want that, I wanted more so I had to try and when I had him I couldn’t lose him. I have never cared for someone like this, apart from my family, I’m not gonna find anyone like him again. I lied about what I have and about my last name, but everything I said to him, everything I showed him and all we did, it was all true.” Harry says as quickly as he tongue allows him, and it is fast because when he finishes he runs out of air.

“Well, I’m sorry to say it mate, but you lost him by keeping the truth you thought could make you lose him,” Louis says and this time they both stand up and take their stuff with them, Harry doesn’t really have the energy to move because now every bit of hope of Niall forgiving him, is almost gone.

They are almost at the door when Loui turns back again.

“It’s too late, anyway,” he says with a smirk on his face when Harry looks at him. “He took a flight to Ireland last night.”

“Louis?” Liam says next to him, frowning and leaning his head to his left, “what are you-”

“He must be already in Mullingar by now.” Louis smiles again as he opens the door and disappears into the street, Liam nods at Harry and closes the door when he leaves.

Harry feels numb for a second, alone in a big fancy restaurant with his plate full of food and his stomach completely empty but somehow, he feels nauseous. The next thing he knows he’s picking up his phone and calling his dad’s assistant to get the soonest flight to Dublin.

*

Niall talks a lot about his family and about Mullingar, he used to show Harry tons of pictures of everyone and everywhere when Harry came to his apartment, he also used to say it was a small town and everyone knew everyone and somehow, Harry felt like he knew them already. Niall also used to say that they would love him and he couldn’t wait for him to meet them, so when he arrives to Mullingar and asks for the Horan’s house and received an actual direction, he wishes there would be a different reason for him to be outside Niall’s parent’s house, about to knock on the door.

When he arrived in Mullingar it was about to be nighttime. He hasn’t eaten all day and his head has been all over the place to allow anything in his mouth without being throw up after. He’s carrying nothing more than his wallet, his passport and his phone in his coat and maybe this is not the wisest decision he has ever made and a lot of things could go wrong, especially when he shows up unexpectedly, but the moment Niall opens the door with a huge smile and his cheeks incredibly red, every concern leave his body.

“Harry?” He says, quietly, closing the door behind him as he stands in front of Harry, open and closing his mouth repeatedly. “What are you doing here?!”

There’s noise coming from inside the house, laughs and joyful screams, kid’s voices and little steps, and Niall seems so relaxed and happy just a minute ago but now he’s crossing his arms on his chest, like he’s building a fence around him to keep Harry out and he’s trying not to lose his smile because of that because Niall seems to be so close to him right now but when he takes a step to him, he takes one back, slapping his back to the door so Harry stays still, taking one step back and looking at his shoes.

“You can’t do this, Niall.” He finally says, his voice trembling and his hands tighten up into his pockets.

“Do what?” Niall askes exasperated, Harry looks up to him, wishing he could just read his mind so he doesn’t have to drown with his thought.

“You can’t leave your whole life in London for what happened. We need to talk, I need to explain.” Harry reaches for Niall’s arm and this time he doesn’t pull out and he wants to call it progress but maybe it has to be with the reason why he’s giving a confused look at Harry.

“Leave my life? What are you talking about? I’m here for my nephew’s birthday, I’m going back on Monday.” He says, slowly uncrossing his arms. Harry’s hand still on his arms, gently falling to his wrist.

“What?” Harry asks, and now he’s the confused one. “But Louis said-”

But he couldn’t complete the sentence because Niall’s laughing, fully and wide, his head looking at the night sky and his free hand touching his stomach, his cheeks are red everything about him takes Harry’s breath away. He is so in love.

“Of course he did.” He finally looks at Harry with a gentle smile on his face, his eyes look alive and his rosy cheeks look so pure that makes Harry try his luck, slowly reaching Niall’s hand, interweaving their fingers, making him look at their hands immediately.

“We’re gonna sing to Theo. Who is it, Niall?” A blonde woman opens the door with a big smile and a beautiful dress, she looks surprised for a second until his eyes meet the same spot Niall was looking at and her smile grows incredibly wider. “Oh! You must be Harry! Niall didn’t tell us you were coming over!” she laughs, just as Niall. “I’m Maura, Niall’s mom.”

She pulls out her hand and Harry shakes it with his free hand, until Niall clears his throat and lets Harry’s hand go.

“Have you eaten yet?” She asks and Harry shakes his head, because he hasn’t. “Come on in! We have enough food for ten more people!”

“Ma-” Niall tries to stop him but for what Harry can see, he hasn’t told his family everything.

“I’d love to,” Harry says, imitating the smile on Maura’s face on his and he bites his lips when she enters, calling Bobby and Greg to meet _Niall’s boyfriend_. It’s worth the look on Niall’s face as he walks in and takes his coat off.

*

Theo Horan is the cutest kid Harry has ever met and maybe he’s not being impartial because Theo is just a mini version of Niall. He is all red cheeks and bright blue eyes with a loud and beautiful laugh, running everywhere and smiling at everyone, making everyone smile in return. Maybe he will never be impartial about Theo because he hugged him like he hasn’t seen him in years when Niall introduced them just a second ago and now Harry is hiding behind the guests as all of them sing to a six-year-old.

Harry feels warm inside as he’s looking around him, seeing Niall’s brother holding his son above the cake so he can blow the candles and Niall right next to them with their parents by his side, and Niall looks good, he looks happy and relaxed and refreshed, so different how he saw him the last time. And it’s bothering him a little in the middle of his chest because he’s getting this thought again, that maybe Niall is better off without him and he should be doing all of them a favor, just walking away from all this.

But seeing Niall like this, with a smile on his face, holding his nephew for family photos and then connecting his eyes with Harry’s, makes it impossible for Harry to let it go. He just knows they have something great between them, he has never felt like this with any other person and he is so afraid he will never feel like this again.

The lights are on and everyone is eating cake now. Harry can see Theo trying to eat properly with a paper plate in his hand as he walks around the living room to open his present. Maybe he should get one for him tomorrow. Harry looks up and sees Niall pointing with his head to what he supposes is the kitchen, so he walks down there, following Niall inside.

Niall is serving him a plate with some pork and mashed potato when he enters the kitchen. It’s a mess inside but is understandable. Niall puts some vegetables and then pour what he supposes is some sausage on the top of it all. When he finally turns around, he points to another door at the other side of the kitchen.

“Let’s go talk outside.”

“But it’s cold,” Harry says without really thinking, just looking at the plate of food in front of him and the door on the other side.

When he looks up, he finds Niall looking at him, blinking and doing that expression with his face that Harry always tried to not laugh at.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. Let’s go outside.” Harry says, smiling. Niall hands him the plate and they step outside, sitting in the steps of the back of the house.

It’s darker than it was when Harry arrived and there’s a cold breeze that plays with their hair, but it’s not too much to handle, not when all they can feel is the weight of unspoken words. Harry starts eating, and even if he already knew it by the smell, the food is delicious, and he must have made some kind of sound because now Niall is looking at him after a laugh.

Harry eats in silence as Niall looks at the small garden in front of him, he sighs and Harry only imagines what’s going on in his mind right now. When he finishes, Harry leaves the plate next to him, trying to not make any sound to disturb the atmosphere between them.

“Why are you here, Harry?” Niall finally asks, putting both hands on his side, dangerously close to Harry’s hands.

“I thought you left.” He answers, whispering for no real reason.

“I know that, but _why_ ,” Niall asks again and Harry is confused. He stares at his profile trying to find the answer Niall wants to hear from him, but he has no idea.

“I don’t wanna lose you.” Harry takes his hand and Niall doesn’t pull away.

“Did you ever have me?” Niall is not looking at him and his voice is just a mumble in the dark.

Harry doesn’t know what to say because his chest hurts and he can’t bear any other minute without looking at Niall’s eyes so he can know how he’s feeling. This is all a mess and he needs to fix it so bad but whatever he does, it just seems to make it worse. So he stands up and squirts in front of Niall so they can look at each other, Niall smiles and looks away before looking at Harry one more time.

“I was dating a nice guy that works in a coffee shop near my job-”

“Niall you are dating _me_.” Harry tries to hold Niall’s face but he stands up.

“Do you even live in that apartment you took me to?” He asks, hands in his pockets and his blue eyes tearing up. Harry opens his mouth but he can’t answer because he doesn’t live there. “Oh, god.” Niall laughs, taking a step back, pulling away from Harry.

“I lied, okay? I didn’t tell you my real name and I pretended to have a job I don’t have only to get to see you. But every single thing I said to you, everything we did, that is me. All of it is real.” Harry gets closer to him, slowly, pronouncing every word looking at his eyes, trying to make him understand.

Niall goes down the steps to the garden, trying to walk away from the house, maybe to keep is family from listening and Harry doesn’t know if that’s a good sign or not. So Harry follows him because that’s all he can do now.  He’s never been in a situation like this before, he has been in relationships, he has loved a lot of people for short periods of time and he has been interested enough to pursue them, but with Niall it’s different. He sees the world and the people in a way that Harry wishes he could.

There’s a thing about him, the way he carries himself, the way he talks about what he loves and the people he cares about, the way he makes Harry feel loved. It’s completely different how he is in other aspects of his life, when he loves he does it quietly and gently, he does it with looks and smiles and a beer on his hand as he hears Harry talk about stupid shit like it’s the most important part of his day. He looks at Harry in a way that he sees _more_ of him.

And maybe that’s the reason why he’s avoiding looking into Harry’s eyes because he would see that Harry _loves_ him.

“You just didn’t lie about your name, Harry.” He breathes in, “You orchestrated a charade to… what, exactly? Get laid? Get a date with me?”

Harry shakes his head. He makes it sound so raw and wrong but it’s none of that.

“I want you to be honest, Niall,” Harry says, walking up to Niall to stand in front of him, “Would have agreed to go on a date with me if you knew who I was in the beginning? You hate rich people.”

Niall smiles, looking down in disbelieve. “I do, don’t I? But I didn’t know being rich is all that defines you.” He looks up, placing his hands on Harry’s chest, he takes the shirt’s lapels on his hands and stretches the cloth, like he’s mad at the shirt instead of Harry. “I dislike the people in my job, the way they acted, what they do with money, the prejudices.” He looks up again and this time Harry realizes how close they actually are.

Harry takes Niall’s hands on his chest, “I’m sorry.” And it seems like it’s something that should be said, “I never meant to hurt you. I care about you, so much. One minute I was going early almost every day to the bakery and the next I bought a flat. It wasn’t supposed to come this far.”

“I just don’t understand why you had to lie-” Niall whispers, letting Harry’s hands go.

“I’m sorry.” He says again, trying to touch Niall when he starts to pull apart just a couple of steps.

“I’m not good at trusting people-” He says, and Harry remembers bits of conversations about letting people down before they could hurt him and how he used to avoid the subject so many times before, and he let it pass because he didn’t want to make him uncomfortable.

“Niall.” Harry tries to stop whatever is happening right now.

“Maybe this isn’t the right time for us-” Niall is not looking at him at them, kicking the grass to fill the sudden silence that appears to cover the voices coming from the house behind them.

“Niall.” He tries again.

“You should go home, Harry.”

And there’s silence again. Harry finally drops his arms to the side and he’s starting to feel the cold when the door opens behind then and Maura’s head pops up looking for them.

“There you are!” She says, smiling until she sees them standing apart from each other looking at her like she took them by surprise, “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, Ma,” Niall answers, smiling at her but if Harry can see it tremble from his side, he’s sure Maura can see it too. “We’ll be inside in a minute.”

She nods, smiling as well but she’s looking at Harry, making a question with her eyes so he looks at the ground, “we have cake here waiting for you guys, don’t take too long.”

*

“So, Niall told us you work in a coffee shop.” Maura says after the guests left and Theo fell asleep in the couch.

Bobby Horan introduced himself to Harry with a hug and made everyone sit around the table so he can bring coffee and cake for them to share. Niall has been quiet since they returned to the house and he’s been avoiding looking at Harry and he understands, but he doesn’t like it.

“I actually own the place,” Harry says, taking another sip of the coffee. He can see Niall, from the corner of his eye, looking up, “I also have a restaurant.”

“Harry-” Niall’s voice comes from the other side of the table where he decided to sit, as far away as possible from him.

“And my dad is one of the owners of the bank from which Niall got fired.” Harry laughs, cutting another piece of cake and putting it on his plate, “which is my fault.”

“Niall?” Maura’s voice comes as a whisper from Niall’s side.

“Excuse us, we’ll be upstairs.” Niall stands up, crosses the table to Harry’s seat and takes him by the wrist, ignoring his complaint about the cake left in the plate and makes him enter to the second door in the second floor.

It’s Niall’s childhood room, he can tell by the Irish flag over the bed and the Eagle’s posters on the walls. There’s a small vinyl player and some records piled up at its side. Harry walks in, looking at the pictures on the walls with a smile, touching his old guitar in the corner of the room when his eyes laid on it.

“What was that?!” Niall says, exasperated. He’s standing in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips, looking dangerously attractive.

“I wanna start over.” Harry shrugs, smiling at him like Niall didn’t just break up with him less than an hour ago.

“And telling my family that you got me fired is your best idea of doing so?!”

Harry laughs because Niall sounds genuinely mad but Harry’s chest hurts so much, it makes him feel numb everywhere else. He takes Niall’s hands and drags him to his bed until he sits and Niall is standing in front of him, in the middle of his legs.

“I love you.” Harry says, smiling at Niall’s hands as he rubs his palms with his thumbs, he wants to kiss it but he also knows it may not be the best of ideas.

He lets Niall’s hands go and he lays on the bed, closing his eyes until he feels Niall lying down next to him. He interweaves their fingers when their hands are close enough and squeezes, Niall’s hands are loose but is good enough.

“I need to know if you love me too,” Harry whispers, turning to his side, looking at Niall’s profile. His eyes are closed and their grip tightens up when Harry feels him squeeze back. “If you do I’m gonna fix this. We’re gonna start over. No lies, no more bullshit.”

A single tear drops from the side of his eye to his forehead, and this is the first time Harry sees him cry over him, and it hurts, but there’s nothing he can do to stop the way Niall is feeling so he slides his thumb over it and gets closer to him, breathing over his cheek so he can get a better look of his face under the lights off.

“I need to know because I don’t want to let go of you.” Harry rubs Niall’s knuckles, slowly, calmly. “I don’t think I can.”

Niall nods, finally letting the tears fall down his face and Harry doesn’t dare to touch him, so he lets him cry in silence, rubbing his hand and mumbling to cover the whimpers Niall’s so desperate to suppress. They slide over the bed until Harry’s head is touching the bedside and Niall’s head is resting on Harry’s chest as he plays with his hair, lulling him to sleep.

Harry closes his eyes and lets the air out his chest, along with a promise disguised as an _I love you_.

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me as flickerbyniall in tumblr.


End file.
